


Just Finn (but just Finn is pretty good)

by pureofheartdumbofass



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: ...sex-wing, Alternate Timeline, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Black Squadron - Freeform, Finnpoe - Freeform, First Kiss, First Meetings, Lots of Flying, M/M, Major Character Injury, POV Poe Dameron, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, Smut, Sort Of, Stormpilot, X-Wing Sex, blowjob, forcepilot, i got distracted by the space bits and had to add the gay bits later, i love them, like excessive black squadron, lots of space, not a slowburn but not a oneshot really a average burn i suppose, poe adores finn, really - Freeform, they're in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:08:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22145419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pureofheartdumbofass/pseuds/pureofheartdumbofass
Summary: Poe could tell just by looking at him that if he wanted to he could be just as intimidating as his companions. For a few seconds he mused at the idea of that face with the jaw set and brows furrowed, but now his face and posture were as relaxed as he thought they could possibly be and his eyes were crinkled at the corners. He was the one laughing.Behind him Snap, his arm in Karé’s, cleared his throat. Poe realised that he had been not only staring, but just standing there like an idiot, arms dropped by his sides, for probably an unreasonable amount of time.-Finn is a new recruit who sought out the resistance along with two friends. The group have important information about the First Order and black squadron are sent to meet with them to discuss it. Poe gets a little distracted and quickly finds himself completely smitten.(a completely different timeline to the actual sequels)
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote the first paragraph for no reason but then decided to try and continue the story. It was hard but also fun to try and build their dynamic without the three tenants of finnpoe as it were (the rescue, the name, the jacket) but I'm pretty happy with it. Also I love Finn and he and Rey both deserved better.

The first thing he heard as he walked through the door was laughter. There was general laughter and shouts of expression being thrown between small crowds but one voice rang out just as he entered and it caught his attention. As his eyes traced the room for the source of the sound they settled upon a group of three huddled around a table in the corner. There were two women, the one on the left was cute and small but there was a tough look in the smiling eyes under her bangs as she giggled. The one on the right was smiling too, she was slender and beautiful and as equally fierce looking as the other, with her hair in a series of small buns down the back of her head and a staff at her side, but what he was really looking at was the man sat between them. He had dark skin and it was reflecting the blue and purple lights of the bar, soft and subtle but it was mesmerising none the less. His hair was closely cropped at the sides and slightly longer at the top, just enough for his short locs to flop a little as he moved his head. Poe could tell just by looking at him that if he wanted to he could be just as intimidating as his companions. For a few seconds he mused at the idea of that face with the jaw set and brows furrowed, but now his face and posture were as relaxed as he thought they could possibly be and his eyes were crinkled at the corners. He was the one laughing.

Behind him Snap, his arm in Karé’s, cleared his throat. Poe realised that he had been not only staring, but just standing there like an idiot, arms dropped by his sides, for probably an unreasonable amount of time. As he turned around he hoped his jaw wasn’t agape. Jess chuckled.

The five of them headed towards a reasonably large table on the back wall, considering they were expecting guests. As they made their way across the room the rest of the cantina’s noise met his ears. He hadn’t even noticed the small band whose music now floated over the chatter. After they were settled, Jess activated the small beacon she was carrying to let their rendezvous know they were here. Poe got up again to get drinks for everyone. As he walked towards the bar his eyes kept flicking back to the group in the corner. The second time he looked over, the man was looking back. Poe looked away hurriedly but not quick enough to not notice the woman on the right pull a small device from a pouch on her belt. It was blinking, like it had picked up a beacon. Surely it wasn’t them.

The shorter woman’s name was Rose, Poe leaned, and the taller was Rey. Rose was an engineer and Rey, a scrapper from Jakku. The man’s name was Finn, Poe tried it out in his mind, it was short and sweet. Finn was an ex-stormtrooper and Poe wasn’t quite sure what to do with this information. He felt a pang of, something, in his chest. Not quite unease, sympathy perhaps. When Rose had introduced him he had grimaced and looked down. His relaxed expression from before was all but gone.

They told them pretty much what had been said in their transmission. They were friends, they had important information for the resistance about the first order and they needed a safe place to give it to them.

“I thought this was the safe place?”

Rose shook her head as Jess said this.

“No, too many ears, and some of us are, targets.” she looked towards Finn. “You have a base don’t you?”

“Is there anything about what you have that you can tell us here?” Karé asked. Poe understood what she meant by it, they couldn’t just reveal the location of the resistance base to anyone, but he was worried they might not see it this way. Still, they seemed to take it without offence, they looked between each other, Rose looked at Finn and he gave her a small nod. Then the three walked away from the table to discuss amongst themselves.

“She’s kinda cute, the tall one” Jess said, nodding towards Rey’s turned back.

Suralinda gasped in mock shock at this scandalous comment and Karé rolled her eyes. Snap just nodded at Jess as if in approval. It was Poe’s turn to look shocked.

“So it’s okay when she does it?”

“I wasn’t gawking.” said Jess. Snap shook his head slightly and smiled a little.

“I do feel the need to remind you both that we are currently on a mission to negotiate with new allies or possibly members of the resistance that say they have something important for us so you do both need to shut up.”

The trio was moving back towards them now, with purpose.

“They’re still hot allies.” Jess mumbled but not too low for the others to hear. Poe smirked.

“The first order,” Finn spoke in a whisper that was almost a hiss, as he sat down and leaned in close in an attempt to not be overheard. “is building a weapon. I know about it, I-” He hesitated. At this proximity Poe’s attention was drawn to the worry lines across his forehead, they were earnest and, cute. “I worked on it.” He said in a lower voice.

Poe shook his head a little and blinked a few times. Focus.

“Do you remember the death star?” it was Rose. The black squadron looked between each other, all concerned at what that question was implying. Karé nodded for them.

“It’s like that.”

Exactly what they had been hoping she wouldn’t say.

“But bigger.” said Finn.

“It is more than capable of destroying entire systems in one shot.” Rey added helpfully.

“We really can’t talk about it anymore here but we all have more to offer.” said Finn.

Poe looked him in the eyes and nodded, he had an idea.

“We can’t take you with us straight from here and we will need to talk to the general first,” He was sitting up taller now, he’d only just remembered that he was the squad leader. “but if you take a commlink and head away from here we can contact you in around 12 hours and then we will come and get you.” He looked to his team, they all nodded in agreement and he pushed a commlink across the table towards Finn.

“Alright,” Rey said, picking it up and examining it. “see you in 12 hours.”

She shouldered her staff and the other two stood up and headed out. Finn hesitated at the doorway and turned to look at them, and maybe at Poe, before leaving.

As they walked back to where their ships were parked Karé and Snap talked in low voices about the news they had just received. Poe heard something about whether they had pushed the others to say too much and what if someone had overheard. He knew he should be concerned but his mind was only focused on one thing, Finn.

Leia had agreed to their plan, believing that whatever they had for the resistance was definitely worth it. The concern on her face had left Poe a little haunted. He knew most of the senior officers of the resistance were former rebels like his parents and had taken part in the death star’s destruction, Leia especially. But now, as he sped through space alone to the coordinates Rey had sent him, he felt a little giddy. He decided that, when he had a moment, he was going to sit down and think about what he was doing to himself.

A small quadjumper appeared in the distance, Rey was piloting. 

Poe quickly learned that the trio were almost inseparable. It was evening and the mess hall of the base was significantly more crowded than usual. It had been an eventful day and everyone had gathered to discuss the new intel and, meet their new guests. Poe was sitting on a low couch by a table with a few more of black squadron. Rose, Finn and Rey were sitting almost directly across from them as they were the only ones they knew but the two groups did not really converse and the three newbies had a lot of guests. After a short while, Rey left to talk with Leia about something and Poe’s companions began to dwindle. Rose, who had struck up a conversation with a group of other engineers was moving away from their spot too, just as Poe got up to get himself another drink. Seeing that Finn was finally alone he found himself practically sauntering across the room towards him. He really needed that think now but it was too late.

As soon as he sat down he instantly regretted not getting a drink for Finn too. Finn looked at him, he smiled, Finn gave him a small smile back. Poe’s chest fluttered a little, he decided he was a bit tipsy. Poe leaned back.

“So, ex-stormtrooper huh?” What a way to start a conversation. It was not like he really knew much else about Finn though.

Finn hummed in response, looking at his hands.

“You defected or-”

“What else could have happened?” Finn responded a little curtly, but justified.

Poe realised that was a stupid question, he shrugged and nodded and took a sip from his glass.

“There was a raid on a Jakku town. They were looking for a ship I think, something about a trap.” Finn said. Poe was a little taken aback, he hadn’t actually expected Finn to talk much about it he was just desperately trying to strike up conversation, and failing, he had thought.

“It was my first proper raid actually. One of my uh- comrades, was shot and killed almost as soon as we landed. I looked around at what was happening and I- I decided I couldn’t kill for them. While they were distracted I ran. I dumped my armour and blaster. I still can’t believe it was that easy. Rey found me the next morning.”

Poe gave him a sympathetic look, he was beginning to understand the group’s closeness, they had clearly been through some shit. He put a hand on Finn’s shoulder, hoping it wasn’t uninvited but Finn seemed to relax into it.

“That doesn’t sound easy at all, it sounds really hard. I heard there’s a lot of, uh- brainwashing involved in trooper training, it must have been difficult.” Honestly, Poe was unable to imagine what it could possibly have been like.

Finn acknowledged what he had said with a short, pained laugh.

“Yeah, but also no, it was the right decision.”

His admiration for the man rose inside him to meet the attraction, and, the awkwardness of the whole situation.

“So how long have the three of you been together?” He let go of his shoulder and returned to holding his glass with both hands but now Finn was turned towards him and he towards Finn, leaning forwards a little.

“About six months I’d think.” Finn said, looking as though he was trying to count the days. “Rose joined us after one, she was trying to get to the resistance too and we just got along.”

“You’ve been looking for us for that long?” He asked.

“Well, I wasn’t sure about it at first but Rey was and she was all I had.”

“Why was Rey looking for us if you were the one with the information about Starkiller?”

“She wanted to talk to Leia.”

That explained why she had left earlier.

“Why?” Poe felt a bit repetitive and he didn’t want to probe too much but he was curious.

“She’s force sensitive.”

That wasn’t what he was expecting.

“I think she thought joining the resistance under General Organa was the closest to training and support she could get. What with her, family history and all.”

“So that’s the real reason you came here.”

“We all had our reasons. There was the information, obviously, and Rose’s sister was resistance. They got separated a few years ago and she’d been looking for her. When she found out she died I thought she’d give up but she became even more determined. Without the intel from a few communications with her we wouldn’t have found you”

Poe felt his respect for the whole trio growing with each word Finn said. He also felt a something in his stomach when Finn looked him in the eyes and said _“you”_.

“What about you?”

Finn looked a little sheepish.

“I didn’t want to at first, I was scared, I just wanted to hide. And when Rey told me about her connection with the force I became even more sure that coming here was a bad idea. For a while we didn’t do anything because Rey wasn’t too happy about leaving Jakku for some reason.” he chuckled a little at this. Poe snorted in return.

“But once we met Rose they both decided pretty quickly and I wanted to stick with them. They were both so brave and determined plus, I’ve seen the first order and what they’ve done. Fighting them is the right thing to do.”

“Sounds like you were pretty brave too buddy.”

The next few days were awkward but almost peaceful. Rey spent time with Leia, Rose moved into the engineers’ quarters almost immediately, and Finn spent most of his time in the war room discussing Starkiller’s construction. So, what with Poe being in the war room too, representing black squadron, and his other friends busy, Poe began to receive a little more of Finn’s attention. At first it was just brief discussions of possible tactics while others were talking but with Finn’s combat training and Poe’s flying experience they made a pretty good tactical team. Eventually their ability to play off each other strategically developed into natural chemistry. Poe found himself approaching Finn to continue conversations after meetings and more surprisingly, Finn would meet Poe after drills with the squadron.

“I want to help more.” Finn had said as they sat on crates in the hanger under Poe’s X-Wing.

“Finn, what you’ve done for us, the intel, your help with our attack plans, it’s more than enough.”

“Yeah but you helped with that too.”

“Not like you.” Poe interjected. It was true. Finn rolled his eyes.

“You did. And you also fight and train pilots and, I just want to do, more.” he said again. It was Poe’s turn to roll his eyes, then he shook his head with a small smile.

“You really don’t have to,” He started, but he knew Finn wasn’t going to let this go. “what were you thinking?”

“I thought I could help with training perhaps, like combat. I’m good with blasters and hand to hand. I was one of Phasma’s best cadets you know?” he said that last part with a small smirk. Poe scoffed.

“Yeah? Look where that got her.”

“Poe Dameron I could beat your ass in a second”

Poe was a little taken aback by this but he chose to push, he liked playing with fire.

“Try me.”

All of Poe’s hopes of being pinned to the ground or pushed against a wall were immediately shattered as Finn pivoted on the crate, remaining seated, and a boot connected with his stomach. He fell unceremoniously backwards over the crate and lay on the ground, winded. Finn was laughing. As soon as the air returned to his lungs he was laughing too.

“No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“What do you mean what do I mean? You know what I mean commander, no.”

Poe was baffled, he couldn’t see any reason why Leia would be opposed to his suggestion.

“I understand you have, taken to him, but these people are new” she glanced towards Rey in the corner of the room, she was talking to rose “it’s not that I don’t trust them we just can’t be too careful.”

“Surely you can’t think fi- they, would-” He stopped himself. “We need them, and he’s experienced and willing to help, it was his idea, it’s perfect.”

“Maybe in the future, when we know them better and when we aren’t in the middle of planning a major operation plus he’s experienced in fighting not teaching. I don’t doubt his abilities Poe, but we don’t have time for this now.”

“But now is when we need it most. What better way to fight against the first order than instructed by someone trained by them?”

“…and that’s why Finn has been helping plan the attack.”

Poe sighed, the general had made up her mind. For now, at least.

“Now, the reason I called for you is some of Finn’s intel came through. There’s a number of order mining facilities in the outer rim providing the crude materials for the base’s construction. I need black squadron to pay one a visit.” She opened a holomap on the console in front to her with points, the mining locations Poe assumed, highlighted in red. “I want you to fly in, observe the layout of the facility and their operations from a safe distance and _not_ to engage. I do not believe your team is suited for a reconnaissance mission but the mines are surrounded by asteroid fields and we need our best pilots to get in undetected. The point is to gain reference for future attacks.”

Poe chuckled a little and nodded. Leia knew her operatives well.

“Permission to bring an extra party member?” He knew he was not to expect a fight but over the past week Finn had revealed himself to be skilled in many areas. Surely Leia would see the benefit of his assistance. Plus, he wanted to help.

She sighed. “Granted, if he wants but you’re taking the other two as well, I’m sure they can be helpful also.”

He should have expected a compromise such as this. He nodded again. 

“Some of them may even be level headed, could prove to be an invaluable asset to your team.”

Poe laughed again and turned to leave the room. When he reached the door Leia called out again.

“Remember commander, do not engage.”

“Will do general.”

Perhaps a poor choice of words.

He cursed himself as he walked down the corridor to the hanger. Leia had caught him before he did and he knew it. There were of course many reasons to take Finn out with the squad but the real reason was he hadn’t had a chance to take him for a spin yet and he wanted to show off. It was often his first move and it hadn’t failed to impress yet. She had stopped him in his tracks and it was probably intentional, she probably didn’t _“have time for this”_ , this being the bullshit he was undeniably on at this point. She knew her operatives _too_ well.

He supposed he was grateful. No amount of the thinking he had planned had helped his situation so far. At least with more company he might not get carried away, whatever that meant. He still wasn’t sure what he planned to do with, this. Finn was friendly and overly affectionate at times but that just seemed to be who he was. Poe wasn’t special.

As soon as he briefed the squad on the mission and their guests he could tell they knew exactly how things had gone down. Though Jess didn’t seem too upset, maybe they should have a talk after this he thought. She was a lot more, together, with this stuff and for the first time in a while, Poe really cared about how things went.

There was a split second where Poe considered the possibility that Finn may not want to come with them but his face when he explained the premise of the mission shattered any doubt. He also didn’t think he’d seen Finn excited before, it was nice. The other two seemed keen as well and Poe was a little exited to see the group working as a team. Also, Poe had noticed the trio becoming a little antsy in their new positions on base and he knew that feeling all too well. His erratic behaviour when cooped up for too long was something Leia often chastised him for and he was beginning to see that reflected in Finn and Rey especially. They all needed this.

“We won’t be taking anymore ships than if it was just us so you guys will have to fill up some passenger seats.” Karé said, once they were all gathered.

Rey looked a little put out and Poe realised she may have been expecting to fly too. She was a pilot, but she had never flown an X-Wing before and like Leia had said, asteroid fields.

There was a quick discussion about who was going with who. Finn was with Poe of course, that was not debated. But Rey ended up with Snap and Jess was joined by Rose. Still, when Rose began to look over Jess’s ship excitedly as they loaded the astromechs and re-filled the tanks she wasn’t glaring and she was even acknowledging Rose’s comments, so they seemed to be getting on fine.

BB-8 whirred excitedly, he seemed to have some opinions about Finn joining them. Poe climbed the ladder to the cockpit and then turned around to offer Finn a hand up. Finn laughed and took it, soon they were ready to go.

“Dropping out of hyperspace in 3, 2, 1…”

The comm crackled and their five x-wings shot out in front of a maze of asteroids. The field was dense and the rocks were the size of anything from a BB unit to a small moon. It was going to be tricky to navigate quickly and perfect cover.

“Alright guys, our orders were to get through this undetected, get as close to the facility as we can and then get out of here. Finn, Rey, Rose, I need you three to stay alert as well. I don’t fancy a run between these rocks under pursuit.”

“Copy that black leader.”

Comms closed.

“You ready buddy?”

BB-8 whistled enthusiastically.

“Not you.”

A dejected woop.

“I’m sorry, I love you, Finn?”

“Just don’t get us killed.”

“C’mon man, best pilot in the resistance, have a little faith.”

Comms open.

“Ok team, let’s go in.”

And Poe punched it.

“Whooooooo hoooooooooooo!”

The ship swung between the obstacles, diving in and out of craters in the larger ones and narrowly avoiding the smaller ones, leaving them spinning in their wake.

“How you doing back there?”

“Eyes on the rocks Poe. EYES ON THE ROCKS!”

They dodged one about half an a-wing in diameter. Despite his accusing glares and small, slightly endearing, pout, Finn seemed to be enjoying the ride. Poe smirked and turned back to face the oncoming asteroids. Up ahead loomed one roughly the size of an AT-AT without legs. Poe had an idea.

They plummeted towards it without slowing. This was one of Poe’s favourite manoeuvres to fly, teach, and, to show off.

“Watch this.”

“Poe, what are you doing?”

“We’re going to hit that rock!”

“Poe!?!??”

“POE!”

Seconds away from collision, Poe opened all the flaps on the wings and killed the engines just for a second before pulling the joystick upwards sharply and shooting up along the rocky surface. 

“WHOOOOOOOO” the cheer erupted from both of them this time.

“DID YOU SEE THAT?”

“I SAW IT! THAT WAS AMAZING. AND TERRIFYING, NEVER DO IT AGAIN.”

“OK”

“Poe cut it out.” Jess and Rose were running through the rocks alongside them now. “This is a stealth mission, we have to go “ _undetected_ ” if I remember correctly.”

“That just means we can’t make a mess. I was just having a little fun, there’s nothing wrong with that is there?”

Suralinda must have had her links open because he swore he heard her stifle a laugh.

“I know exactly what you were doing Poe.”

Then Rey’s voice reached them through snap’s comm.

“I can see something up ahead, looks like a station, I think it’s what we’re looking for.”

The station was embedded in one of the larger asteroids. Behind it was a small nebula that had been hidden by the rocks.

“They’re mining the gasses.” Snap observed.

“Yes.” Poe heard Finn’s voice behind him. “They use it as fuel, to power the base.”

“Are they all mining gasses?” Sura was no doubt already planning how she could use this information for a story.

“Most of them, yes.”

“What sort of station needs that much power and so little construction material?”

“One made out of a planet.” Rose reminded them.

“Alright.” Poe was trying to distract them a little, the details of Starkiller Base were daunting and while knowing of its existence was vital for their rebellion it had rather dampened resistance spirits, but he was also trying to get on with the mission. “We’re looking for any information we can get that will help us take out as many of these as possible. That means shipment timetables, crew estimations, the basic layout of the station and if we can, what exactly it is that they’re mining. The longer we delay their construction the more time we have to find a solution so let’s move in and lie low.”

The squad moved forwards through the remainder of the field between them and the station. The ships spread out in formation, each one positioning itself behind an asteroid creating a barrier of sorts around the station.

“As far as I can tell they’re unaware of our presence.” Karé informed him.

“Good, let’s keep it that way, everyone power down as much as you can.”

“Copy that.”

“You too BB.”

With a short worrp BB-8 complied. Powering down the lights, heating, engines, navi-computer and then himself.

“So Finn, what can you tell us about these? What do we need to look out for?”

“I was never stationed on one of these posts but I have been on others like it, mining minerals, and processed a lot of these transports on Starkiller. If they are running to the usual schedule we should expect a cargo transport to arrive in one standard hour.”

“I can’t get into the station’s system but I may be able to do a cargo ship.” Said Karé. “If we’re lucky they’ll have all the supply route records.”

“And when they open up communications we can patch in, might be useful.” Rose added.

“Ok let’s do that.”

“If we get the supply routes we could ambush a ship later, get a sample of what they’re mining.”

Poe was a little surprised by Sura’s suggestion, partially because it sounded like something he would suggest. It could work but it was probably a bad move.

“We’d have to run that by the general first.”

Now Finn interjected “It might help to know the size of the crew, if it’s mostly droids that would change the precautions we need to take. Plus we can be better prepared when things go wrong.”

“ _If_ things go wrong. Finn what did I tell you about having a little faith in us? But it’s a good idea.” A careful and not dangerous one, he thought. “Snap, can you scan the facility from where you are? Check for life signs.”

Snap and Rey were behind the asteroid closest and front on to the station.

“Can do Poe.”

“Great.”

Half an hour passed in semi-silence. Finn had been right about the possibility of a mostly droid crew. The few life signs snap had picked up appeared to be guards and a small number of higher-ranking officers. There must have been pilots among them though because they also had a small fleet of six TIE Fighters in a hanger in the middle of the asteroid.

By now, Poe was shivering and he could see his breath leaving his mouth in small clouds. Shutting off non-vital systems like the heating was important if they wanted to remain hidden, especially from droid scanners but damn it was cold out here. There was a shaky exhale behind him. The cockpit was so cramped he could feel its warmth on the back of his neck.

“You sure you don’t have anything warm stashed away up there?”

“How many of my jackets are you going to steal man?”

“You said I could keep this.”

Poe turned around in his seat to look at Finn. He had given him his old flight jacket before they left because he was worried his limited wardrobe was not fighter appropriate. The fact that it looked good on him was a bonus. The dull orange lights of the targeting system and scanners illuminated his face. The soft glow was reminiscent of the one on his skin when Poe first saw him under the lights of the bar, though a completely different colour pallet. It created a warm visage, a stark contrast to their surroundings, and it suited him well.

“You can.” He said, as he looked him up and down. “There should be an emergency blanket under my seat if you can reach.” And he turned back around.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Finn faulted in his attempt to free the blanket from beneath Poe’s seat. “Sure.”

“If you weren’t assigned to one of these stations how did you know so much about them, and where they were?”

“I- I worked in sanitation for quite a while. People leave consoles on, maps open.”

“And you just remembered all that information?”

“Well it’s not like I had much else to occupy myself with. Plus it was, interesting, the organisation of the order. I thought that stuff was important to know, to understand.”

“And useful?”

“And useful.”

“Are you sure your desertion was the fly of the moment decision you told me about?”

“No, well it was in a way, but- …the raid was the last straw but I think, I think I always _knew_ I had to do something.”

Again, they were beyond experiences Poe could relate to. He felt a little frustrated, at himself for asking about it, and at the sense he got when things turned to Finn’s past and the trio, that he couldn’t ever really get close to Finn, that he was out of his depth. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. But he also felt an overwhelming sense of admiration just like that night in the mess hall, and a little bit of hope. Finn would talk to him, that was something, and he wanted desperately to hear what he had to say.

This was getting embarrassingly soppy.

“Do you want to share this?”

Poe looked behind him again and saw Finn now with the blanket draped around his shoulders and his arms open in suggestion. Offering it to Poe. Poe’s chest tightened.

“How would we do that?” he manage to choke out, attempting to turn the awkward cough into a small chuckle. “It won’t go around the seats.”

Finn looked around, taking his surroundings into account.

“I uh, I guess it wouldn’t, no” he laughed too.

“That transport should be here any minute.”

Besides, for some reason, Poe was a lot warmer now.

A ship dropped out of hyperspace and slid between the nebula and the asteroid field.

Sura, on the farthest end of their formation and closest to the nebula, picked it up first. “That doesn’t look like a cargo transport Poe.”

It wasn’t, the ship was much smaller and its sleek body was adorned with three wings of a similar size. The bottom two folded upwards as it drew nearer, creating a familiar triangle shape, it was preparing to land in the hanger alongside the TIEs.

“It’s a shuttle. Finn what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure.” He was sounding worried again.

“I can definitely pick up their communications.” Karé said. “Let’s find out.”

“Shuttle Y-579 you are clear for landing. Proceed to main hanger and prepare to receive the remaining crew.”

“Copy that outpost N-3.”

“They’re abandoning the base, why?” Rose asked.

“I’m only reading two life signs on the ship, probably a co-pilot and pilot. Definitely no replacement crew.” Snap said.

“Maybe they’ve finished their operation.” Rey suggested.

“That’s not good.”

“No, it’s not” Karé agreed. “It means we’re running out of time to-”

“Shuttle Y-579 are your scanners running?”

“Negative sir, why?”

“Switch communications to a secure channel officer.”

“Shit, shit, shit.”

This definitely wasn’t good. “Karé what just happened?”

“They must have picked us up, blasted droids, ever vigilant.”

“They’ve launched something.” said Rey.

“It’s a probe droid, and it’s headed our way.” Snap was sounding as worried as Finn.

“Shit.”

The droid made its way to the edge of the asteroids in a matter of seconds.

“Snap that thing’s getting awfully close to you bud.” Poe was desperately trying to think of a way to get his squad out of this but most of his plans involved running for it and hoping for the best.

“Well I can’t move away or it’ll see me wont it?” Agitated Snap was never helpful.

“If that thing sees us we’re toast.” That wasn’t helpful either but when Poe turned his head he could see Finn was thinking.

“But if we do anything to stop it they’ll know we’re here.” Poe added, trying to help him along like they had those times on the base.

“But they won’t know where we are, that could give us an advantage.” He looked at Poe as if it was a question.

“That could work.” He was grinning a little, Finn was a genius and they were a team, they were gonna do this.

“I don’t know about that Poe”

“Faith Jess, faith. Besides what other choice do we have?”

“I’m with Finn.” Sura said decidedly.

“Me too.” Somehow Rey agreeing reinstated a little confidence in everyone.

“Alright, as soon as that thing gets to you I’m going to shoot it and then we scramble and use the field for cover. Let’s hope they don’t make it through and we can re-group on the other side.”

Jess sighed. “Alright.”

“Let’s do this.” he looked back at Finn and he gave him a sharp nod. “Everyone start powering up.”

BB-8 whirred back to life.

“Hey buddy can you get those engines started?” the droid was 10 meters from Snap and Rey.

The engines hummed to life and the lights returned. Poe busied himself with the targeting computer.

Five metres.

Finn had stood up as best as he could and was leaning over Poe’s shoulder, his face right next to his. He snuck a glance sideways. Finn was looking ahead at the droid, and then down at the screen. His jaw was set and his forehead tense with concentration.

“What are you doing?”

“We can’t miss this shot.” Finn was speaking so softly, Poe felt his breath on his cheek. His hand moved to rest on top of Poe’s over the controls. His heartbeat picked up, this was not a good time.

Two metres.

They moved it together.

“Go! Now, you’ve got it.”

Something had changed a little in Finn. Like his military training was kicking in.

Poe fired.

“GO GO GO” he yelled into the comm as Finn threw himself back into the his seat. All five ships shot off in different directions. They were on their own now.

“You got anymore tricks up your sleeve?”

“Nah this is most definitely your thing man.” The Finn from the flight in had returned, along with Poe’s confidence.

After a couple of seconds they could hear the familiar scream of the ties behind them.

“Two!! We’ve got two on us!” Finn practically shrieked. “Why did we get two?”

“Probably because we fired on the droid.” Poe shouted back.

“We can’t out run both we have to get rid of them.”

“Well I can’t exactly get a shot from up here!”

“Can you do the thing?”

“The thing?!”

“The thing I told you never to do again, we could-”

Green blasts were flying all around them now.

“Fire on them from above!” they said in unison. Poe laughed. “Finn, man, where were you all my life?”

There was an asteroid to their left just about the right size. Poe turned slightly and barrelled towards it. They shot upwards and arched over the two ties.

“NOW” Finn shouted again, and again Poe fired.

The first shot was a direct hit and the leading TIE exploded in a colourful ball of fire. The next two missed the second one but the fourth struck the wing and sent it spiralling into an asteroid where it wrecked.

Finn cheered but Poe didn’t have time to join in the celebration. Rocks splinted from the crash and one struck the nose of the X-Wing hard, flinging the ship, and its passengers, violently to the side. Poe’s head struck the edge of the cockpit where it met the hood, hard enough to knock his helmet loose. He tasted blood, and everything went black.


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> small TW// descriptions of pain. Idk if it will set anything off for you but it hurt me to write (not @ me projecting everything onto poe including my pain)

Poe lay in his quarters. He had been dismissed from medbay but instructed to rest. His head was pounding and his whole body was throbbing dully. His leg hurt like hell but the pain was muffled by the freighter load of painkillers the medical droids had pumped into his system. Right now he was enjoying the peace. He couldn’t remember much after firing on the TIEs but as soon as he woke up he had been surrounded by people. Snap and Jess looking down at him anxiously, Suralinda, Rose and Rey in the corner too. The not disappointed but worse, concerned looks from Leia. The droids fussing as they patched him up. Even BB-8’s worried whistling had been too much. And Finn.

His memories may be bleary but he was painfully aware that his name was the first to leave his mouth when he regained consciousness, multiple times, in a frenzy that he was sure had the droids just about ready to sedate him. He had panicked as the pursuit came back to him in a flood of flashing blaster fire and screaming TIEs. Finn was in the cockpit with him, he had dragged Finn out with the squad, it was his fault. And then Finn was there, holding his hand.

“Hey Poe, shhh, I’m fine”

After another minute of relaxing nothing the door opened. Poe groaned a little but stopped when it was met with a familiar voice.

“Hey.”

A small grunt.

“How are you feeling?”

Another groan.

“Fair enough.”

Finn was standing over him now and through his drug fuelled haze Poe thought he could feel a hand brushing the hair from his forehead.

“I wanted to um- is it okay if I stay in here tonight?”

“Why?” it wasn’t meant to sound so accusatory, he was not opposed to the idea just, confused.

He thought he saw Finn blush a little behind his concern. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Poe let out a small laugh that turned into several painful coughs. He was so spaced out that he didn’t quite process the whole situation and that may have been a good thing, for his sake.

“I don’t deserve you.” He said. “I uh- don’t have another bed in here.” His quarters were small.

“That’s okay, I can sleep on the floor. I brought blankets.”

He was holding, a lot, of very comfortable looking blankets.

As Finn arranged his bedding on the floor Poe manoeuvred onto his side with a grimace to look at him. The small light beside his bed illuminated Finn’s face and now he could see the cuts and bruises he must have received in the crash. Well he assumed they had crashed, no one had really told him what happened yet and he was too dizzy listen to much. It was a miracle they had both survived and a miracle that Finn wasn’t hurt like Poe. He felt guilt rising in his chest and clutching at the sides of his throat. He reached out with one hand to touch him and as his thumb rested on his cheekbone Finn looked up.

“Look what I did to you.”

Finn’s hand moved upwards, Poe thought he was going to push his away but instead he let it rest on top.

“I’m so sorry” his eyes were getting watery, this stuff was worse than being dunk.

Finn looked at him and shook his head. Then Poe was almost certain he turned it slightly and placed a small kiss on his palm before turning out the light and laying down just out of his reach. The drugs finally did something useful and Poe slipped into unconsciousness fairly soon after that.

Poe woke first the next morning. Sun was streaming in through the slatted blinds. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. Then, he noticed a small movement in the corner of his eye. He rolled over, startled, looking for what had moved and as he did he cried out involuntarily. Pain shot up from his leg and echoed in every inch of his body. He inhaled sharply. His leg, his broken leg, he remembered. Then he remembered last night, before he could run it through his head Finn sat up quickly. He jumped backwards a little in shock and muffled another cry by gritting his teeth as pain convulsed through him again.

“Poe! Sorry, are you alright? I heard you shout.” The concern in Finn’s face pulled at something inside Poe, though it was barely noticeable in comparison to the pulsing ache that had once again made its home in Poe’s body. He hissed a little through his teeth.

“I’m fine buddy, just fine.” He said, trying to calm Finn. “Just let me- ah!”

He had tried to sit up but a shock from his leg travelled up his spine and into his shoulders that were barley holding his weight, causing him to crash back into the mattress. He now noticed a burning sensation in his arm and when he looked down he saw it too was wrapped in bandages.

“Hey, hey, easy” Finn rubbed a comforting hand against Poe’s shoulder. “Don’t try to get up just yet.”

Poe groaned, defeated. “What happened?”

“You hit your head.” Finn said, reaching up towards the bandages circling his crown and brushing his fingers lightly over the spot where the padding thickened. Poe winced at the touch and Finn pulled his hand away quickly.

“You broke your leg too.” He was speaking so softly.

“Really? Hadn’t noticed.”

“What do you remember?”

Poe thought back, like he was about to before Finn had startled him.

“The mission, gathering information regarding the mines, the shuttle,” A faint smile made its way to his lips and his chest grew warm. “you and I destroying those fighters.” Finn smiled at that too. Then a breath hitched in Poe’s throat.

“The others. Did they make it out? Are they- ?” Finn cut him off.

“The others are fine Poe.” He was rubbing his shoulder again. “They’ll want to see you.”

“Well they aren’t seeing me like this.” He said, pushing himself up successfully this time. “How about we go get some breakfast?” He ginned a little.

Finn shook his head and smiled too “are you sure you're up to it?”

The two made their way down the hall, Poe’s arm around Finn’s shoulders and Finn’s hand on his waist for support, the brace on his leg keeping his injury protected as he hobbled along. Finn chuckled and Poe turned his head to see him beaming down at their feet, carefully watching each step they took, he looked up and for a second they held eye contact before they both began to laugh. The rest of the way to the mess Poe was overwhelmed by his closeness to Finn.To have him holding him as they walked side by side both laughing like idiots. A small thought tugged at the back of his mind, of Finn in the cockpit with him right before they fired on the droid, his focused expression and his steady voice. For a second Poe was scared again, that he didn’t really know the man and wouldn’t, ever. That this serious and wise Finn, the great-asset-to-the-rebellion Finn that stood with him in the war room, was somehow different to the man that had spent the night in his room watching over him and was now giggling uncontrollably.

He turned to look at Finn again as he guided them along and took in every detail on his face. His lips were parted in a small smile and his brows were relaxed but his jaw was clenched, just lightly. As Poe looked into his eyes he saw dark brown but beneath that his smile was reflected in them along with his worry, and his fear, and, determination. He thought about imagining determined Finn when he’d seen him in the bar, and about the determined Finn he’d seen in his x-wing. But this was determined Finn too, and scared Finn, and happy Finn, and proud Finn. Just, Finn. Right there with him, and that was it. Poe felt waves of insecurity begin to wash away and he realised how short sighted he had been so far. Finn was complex but he wasn’t a puzzle, or a threat, just Finn, and maybe just Finn wasn’t a problem either. Maybe he should just let himself enjoy his company-

“Hey” Poe blinked, Finn was looking at him, his smile twisted into an amused smirk. “What are you staring at?”

Poe an hour or so ago would have panicked but instead he just smiled and shook his head.

“Nothing.”

The moment of clear-headed certainty crashed around him as they sat to eat. He was now hyper-aware of the moment he and Finn had just shared and the possible implications that could have, especially when he was still unsure of any of Finn’s intentions. But he wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest anymore and honestly, with that mental hurdle behind him, it was relieving to have his usual disastrous thought pattern back even if Finn’s hand on his waist had begun to burn. Snap and Karé were sitting at a table along with Rey. Snap looked up and did a double take.

“Poe! What are you doing here?”

“Glad to see you’re alright too pal.” Poe said as he sat down.

He turned to Finn. “Shouldn’t he be-” He turned back to Poe. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

Finn shrugged, sitting down next to him.

“He insisted on coming” he answered simply and snap looked at Poe before placing a spoonful of porridge into his mouth and nodding his head understandingly.

Karé looked between all three of them before returning to her breakfast too.

“How’s your leg?” snap asked.

“Hurts like a bitch.” Poe said, “But fine considering the shape it’s in.” he added when snap gave him a _“be positive”_ look.

“You’re lucky you still have it.”

“Ever the ray of sunshine snap, but yes, it’s a miracle we survived.” He glanced towards Finn who looked like he was about to say something. “Though I’m still not sure how, care to fill me in?”

“Him.” Snap said, waving his spoon towards Finn and flicking just a little porridge onto the table. Karé poked him. “He’s your miracle, if he hadn’t landed the two of you on that big asteroid you would have crashed into another and smashed to pieces”

Poe looked up at Finn, why hadn’t he said so.

“You flew the ship?”

“Well I wouldn’t say flew, guided maybe,”

“Still.”

“and I wouldn’t call it a ship anymore either... that thing wouldn’t have flown again, we wouldn’t have made it back without Karé and Suralinda’s help.”

“You’re really something Finn.”

“I broke your leg.”

“You saved my life.”

Finally Finn gave in, he smirked a little.

“Yeah I did.”

“I’d say it’s good to see you commander, but it’s not.” Poe jumped, Leia was right behind him, who knows how long she’d been there. Well Snap, Karé and Rey who were on the other side of the table probably knew but they hadn’t said anything. “You should be in bed.” She looked at him silently for a moment longer. “Still congratulations on making it back alive. I made it clear I didn’t expect a fight but from what I hear it wasn’t your fault so, good work.”

“With all due respect general, it wasn’t really me.” He looked sideways at Finn and Leia nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard that too. Finn, walk with me.”

It was as if a blocked fuel line had been cleared in Poe’s head. Now he moved beyond the increased heartrates and giddy excitement when Finn was near. He began to grow more and more engrossed with him everyday. His favourite pastime was watching he and Rey spar in the training rooms. He knew Rey was powerful, with her connection to the force and all, but as he watched Finn he began to wonder if he was similar. He was definitely a match for Rey and the way he moved was graceful and elegant compared to her sharp and agile strikes but just as powerful. They fought with staves and wooden swords mostly as it was technically Rey’s training but Finn didn’t seem to mind and Poe definitely didn’t. Watching Finn’s back muscles work beneath his skin was tantalising and it made his mouth water just a little. If he had been there of his own accord he would feel guilty but Finn had invited him to watch so they could discuss his tactics and how he could improve in the evenings. Finn had not moved back out of Poe’s quarters.

As well as their friendship growing closer, new parts of their relationship began to emerge, namely, intimacy. Leia had granted Finn permission to start combat training classes on top of his other work on the base while Poe was restricted to planning and checking supplies but somehow Finn was coming out of his shell and getting more energetic as Poe became worn down and exhausted. So, when Poe came crashing down onto his mattress at the end of the day, Finn would sit next to him with a box of medical supplies and redress his wounds.

His head was healing quickly but his arm was taking its sweet time. He hissed and recoiled at the antiseptic Finn dabbed into the broken skin as he shushed him. Then, he unrolled a fresh bandage and wrapped it carefully around his bicep. His leg was the worst. It was being held in a brace most of the time in order to help the bone heal but there were also two nasty gashes on his thigh and calf that needed dressings and so the brace had to be removed.

Poe hoisted his leg up onto the mattress with a grimace as Finn watched, his forehead creased with pity. Finn carefully undid the brace and slid it out from under Poe’s leg. He then began to repeat the process he had used on his arm on each cut. Once it was over Poe would reach forward and take Finn’s hands. Using a cloth from the box, he would dab at Finn’s broken knuckles, cleaning up the blood drawn from training. It wasn’t much but Poe hated doing nothing.

There were more and more moments like this. Silent and peaceful, together, close. Like that morning in the hallway and each time Poe’s chest would fill with warmth and threaten to burst. 

One night Poe had fallen asleep while Finn was tending to his leg and when he woke Finn was still in his bed, holding him.

He knew that they needed to discuss it at some point, even Finn, who claimed not to be well versed in social interaction, would know this wasn’t normal. But why rush? This was weird and hard to think about but it was nice. Besides, there were other things to do.

In their flee from the nebula mine Jess and Rose managed to secure a sample of some of the gasses inside. “It was rose’s idea.” Jess had said and Rose had smiled a little. Now they were trying to figure out which ones the order was using. Along with this, chatter regarding the transfer of high-ranking officers from star destroyers to the base had been picked up and news had reached them from informants in the outer rim of moons disappearing, possibly target practice. Everything pointed to the finalisation of Starkiller drawing near which meant they had to act fast so the final plans were being made and everyone was preparing for the attack which was scheduled in ten days. Except Poe.

Of course he was still involved in the planning but that somehow made it worse. It was good to know what was going on, and to have a say it the pilots’ moves, especially his team’s. It was also good to be working with Finn when they weren’t busy with other duties. But standing, or sitting, in his case, in a room and making decisions for people he would not be fighting with was frustrating. The worst was Finn’s part in the whole ordeal. The plan was to send a command ship, a fleet of fighters and, ground troops under _captain_ Finn’s command. Leia seemed to have reconsidered everything he had said about Finn, including the bit about his training being what they needed to fight the first order. The command ship would scramble shields and the fleet and troops would fly in. they were targeting a thermal oscillator that Finn had identified as a weak point but even with the shields down they couldn’t take it out with fighters alone, they needed to get inside. So, the fighters would cover the troops, black squadron in the lead. If Poe was flying that would put him in the perfect position to look out for his team and, to keep Finn safe. But instead, he was sending his family into the jaws of the enemy and Finn back to his imprisoners and he wouldn’t be there to help.

Part of him was disappointed in himself for worrying about Finn. He believed what he had said, Finn was fully capable of this, and important to the resistance. But he was important to him too, and now, with the operation drawing near, Finn was pushing himself harder than ever before. He had doubled down on training students and on his own training as well. He would stay in the gym late, long after Rey had left and sometimes too long for Poe to stay awake either. When they had a moment alone Finn’s stony face would crack a little and Poe could see the worry lines running along his forehead and around the dark bags beneath his eyes. The squadron were wearing themselves out running drill after drill also and Poe would direct them from the ground and watch their tired faces in the mess. Then one night, after 4 days of this, Poe had had to redress his own wounds because Finn was too tired to help. It was easier now the brace had been downgraded to a splint and the healing stims were working but it felt awful. After taking care of himself he hand returned to his bed to tend to Finn, after the spooning incident Finn had decided Poe’s bed was much comfier than his floor blankets. As well as the usual broken skin on his knuckles, he had split his chin. He did not move from the mattress as Poe cleaned his hands and placed a small dressing over the cut, he barely opened his eyes. Later as they lay side by side, barely awake but hardly asleep, Finn whispered, deep ad low.

“I’m not going to let them take me again, and I won’t let them take anyone else either.”

The words shook Poe and would not let him rest. In the morning, running on a total of one hour of feverish sleep, tossing so much that Finn had grumbled and pinned him down with his arm, his touch only preventing Poe from sleeping further, he made a decision.

“Are you sure?” Sura looked uncharacteristically cautious. “Did you tell Leia?”

“No” Poe said. He wasn’t going to lie to them, plus he knew his friends would let him fly. “but if you don’t let me go out you won’t be able to stop me coming for the attack and then I’ll be three weeks out of practice.”

“Poe…” Snap looked characteristically cautious.

“I’m not sending you out alone, I can’t.”

“He’s right you know,” Karé said. “we can’t stop him.”

Poe put on a lopsided smile, attempting to lighten the mood. “Thank you Karé, I’m glad _someone_ believes in me.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

He held his hand to his chest and gasped in betrayal. He was pretty sure he saw everyone roll their eyes at the same time.

“Alright,” Snap threw his helmet at him and it hit his stomach before he caught it. “but as soon as something goes wrong you’re landing and if Leia is mad you better cover for us, Black Leader.”

He said that last bit with a warm smile and Poe grinned back. “Copy that, Black Two. If, something goes wrong”

The drills were going fairly smoothly. It was the same exercises Poe had been running them through all week but it was much better to be flying them, easier even. Poe could get so lost in flying, even more so among the stars. But he had been away from the joystick for an unbearable amount of time and even remaining within D’Qar’s atmosphere was enough for everything inside him to unwind and he nearly forgot what he was doing let alone why he was up there. It didn’t take more than Snap’s panicked voice through the comm asking why he’d gone off course to bring him back out of the clouds, metaphorically, and remember what he was doing and why he was doing it though. For Finn, for everyone he loved, to protect them. That was why he joined the resistance wasn’t it? To protect people like his mother and father? The floating and calm sensation inside him replaced itself with determined focus and Poe Dameron, resistance fighter, navy pilot and Black Leader, was back in action.

That was, at least, until something in his arm pinched and pain shot up and down it. He flinched and instinctively clutched the joystick but in doing so pulled the ship into a roll. He tried to rectify it with his good hand but not avoiding a sharp dive that got dangerously close to the canopy of the forest surrounding the base. His head and leg were hurting too now and it felt like all his nerves were burning, like his blood was running hot through his veins. It took all he could not to scream.

“POE”

“POE WHAT HAPPENED?”

He couldn’t Tell who was speaking, maybe Snap, maybe everyone.

“POE. LAND. NOW.”

That was Snap. He was almost paralysed and he couldn’t tell which pain was real and which was in his head but he had just enough left in him for his body to switch to autopilot and land just outside the hanger doors.

He didn’t realise how rough the landing had been till he began to smell smoke. He knew that was a sign that he should probably get out of the ship but BB-8 wasn’t reporting any imminent danger and so he just exhaled and threw himself backwards into his seat. The pain was still there but it was dulled by a heavy weight pressing down on his whole body. He wasn’t sure whether he closed his eyes but as his vision blurred and darkened he was vaguely aware of the rest of his team landing around him as figures began to emerge from inside the base.

Leia had a lot to say. Poe sat in medbay as droids moved around him, running every possible test it seemed, and she stood in front of him, speaking in a low and stern voice that somehow delivered the same sting as a shout.

“-even if you aren’t flying we need every commanding officer in action for this mission. Risking what we have left of you to alleviate the strain of your need for heroics is stupid.” She finished.

Poe opened his mouth to speak but Leia just shook her head. He nodded, there would be time to explain later. Besides, she had not listed selfish in her cascade of adjectives, she understood his motives and she’d seen him do this before.

She turned to leave, as she neared the door she no longer obscured his view of the room. It was then he saw Finn, leaning against the doorframe, lips pursed. As Leia exited he pushed himself forward from his perch and slipped past her, crossing the room towards Poe, arms still crossed in front of his chest.

“Finn I-” he started. He was half expecting Finn to yell, there had been a noticeable lack of yelling since he landed. Instead Finn spoke low as well.

“What the fuck man?” His eyes looked tireder than ever. “Why did you do that?”

Poe was about to try and explain, or at least say something, when a droid interrupted them. It informed them that there was no serious injury or anything wrong that was treatable and asked for them to vacate the medbay as they had _“more urgent”_ cases to attend to.

Finn grabbed Poe’s good arm, “Come on.” he said, and pulled him out of the room.

Once in the halls Finn just kept walking, saying nothing. Poe looked up at him and followed. They were headed to the hanger.

Upon entering, Poe saw his ship had been moved inside. It turned out, much like him, the damage was actually minimal. BB-8 had already begun the repairs. He looked at Finn again before jogging the last few steps to meet the droid.

“Thanks buddy.” He said, stooping to hold him and take the tool he was using from him, intending to finish it himself. As he stood up Finn cleared his throat behind him. He turned around, expecting an awkward talk to ensue, one he had hoped to use the repairs as an excuse to avoid. Instead, Finn took the tool from him and gestured to some crates next to them.

“Sit.” He said. “Just tell me what to do.”

“So?” Finn said as he worked on the ship.

“So?” Poe echoed.

“What were you thinking?”

Poe sighed.

“I was thinking, that I couldn’t not do the run on Starkiller. That I couldn’t stay behind and send my team out there, and I couldn’t send you back to them.” He answered truthfully. Finn looked away from the underside of the ship’s hull as Poe continued. “You’ve been working yourself so hard, everyone has and last night you sounded so scared.”

Finn set the equipment he was holding down gently and moved to sit next to Poe.

“Of course I’m scared.” He said, looking into Poe’s eyes and reaching to hold his hand in both of his. “We all are, but I’m ready for this and so are they, so is everyone. It’s like Leia said, even if you aren’t flying we need you in action, in command.” He looked so earnest when he said that and Poe was trying his best to ignore how close their faces were. He moved his other hand to rest on top of Finn’s.

“Of course you’re ready, I know that. I just-” he thought back the last time they were alone in the hanger just like this. “I want to do more.” He said with a nervous laugh. Finn nodded and laughed too. They were even closer now and his heart was running away from him, he couldn’t stop himself.

“I don’t want to see you hurt, and I- I don’t want to lose you.” He looked down at their hands deliberately.

Finn slipped his top hand out from under Poe’s and lifted his face back up.

“I don’t want to lose you either. You’re like a part of me Poe, for so long I was no one, FN-2187, that was my number. It wasn’t really a name, and then Rose and Rey were there and they helped me start to become someone, to become Finn. But you made me feel even more like someone, and like a part of something. You helped me join the resistance, and now I’m a captain and I couldn’t have done it without you and your encouragement and now I just want to look after you…” his sentence did not so much end as trail off.

Poe inhaled sharply and realised as he did that his breath was mingling with Finn’s. Without thinking he crossed the impossibly small distance between their mouths and leaned softly into Finn. Finn relaxed as his arms made their way up and around his neck and everything inside him seemed to stop. When he pulled away Finn smiled.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take for that to happen.” He said.

Poe started. “You mean, you wanted- since when?”

Finn laughed. “I didn’t quite understand at first but I figured it out pretty quickly yeah, took you a while though.”

“It did not.” Poe said, raising his voice just a little. “I just wasn’t sure…”

“Even after I invited you to come watch me fight shirtless in the gym and started sleeping in your bed?”

Poe felt his skin burning. “I didn’t think you were- I couldn’t tell.”

Before he protested further Finn pulled him forwards and kissed him again.

“Can you tell now?” he said with a smirk. Poe felt his insides begin to twist.

“Oh you do not get to be the confident one.” Poe said, standing up and pulling Finn with him. “Not after I waited for this.”

“It’s not my fault you couldn’t read basic social cues,” Finn said. “I thought _I_ was supposed to be bad at that.”

Poe ignored that comment for the sake of his dignity and began to climb the ladder to the cockpit.

“Hang on what are you doing?” Finn asked from below.

“If I’m not allowed to fly the run on Starkiller I at least get to take you out again one more time before we go. Come on.”

“I don’t see how you could possibly think this is a good idea after this morning.” Finn said, but he was already climbing the ladder after him.

“Not too far, nothing fancy, nothing dangerous, I promise.”

“And what if something goes wrong?”

Poe smiled. “Then you can guide us to safety just like last time.” He jumped down into the seat, it hurt is leg a little but he didn’t care. Finn clambered in behind him.

They shot out of D’Qar’s atmosphere and Poe slowed them to a glide. He leaned back and sighed, looking out of the top of the cockpit at the stars.

“You really love this don’t you?” Finn’s voice came from behind him. Poe looked over his shoulder and saw he was looking up too.

“Yeah, when I was younger and more dramatic I would say I belong to the stars”

Finn laughed. “How romantic, how long have you two been together then?”

“Since I was 6.” Poe said, ignoring Finn’s mockery. Finn just hummed in response. There was a comfortable silence and Poe began to think about it all. About being up here, in the ship, with the stars and with Finn. It was perfect. The attack seemed decades away and nothing mattered except this moment.

“So where are we going?” Finn asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know.” Poe said. “I’m happy just being up here. Is there anywhere you want to go?”

Finn shook his head, “Not really.” and then he pulled himself up behind Poe, leaning around his seat. “Can I kiss you again? I mean, can we be-”

Poe tuned so they were facing each other again and kissed Finn quickly and softly. “Yes.”

He turned back to the controls and landed the ship on the nearby moon while Finn just stood next to him. It was small and rocky and without life or an atmosphere. As soon as they touched down he pushed his seat backwards, adjusting the distance between himself and the controls, and pulled on the collar of Finn’s jacket, bringing him down on top of him and kissing him hard. This seemed to be more like what Finn had wanted if the way he beamed at him before kissing him again was anything to go by.

Finn sat in Poe’s lap and reached up, tangling his fingers in his curls. Poe felt heat growing inside him and pulled Finn flush against his chest. He opened his mouth just a little before running his tongue along Finn’s bottom lip. His lips parted and he slipped his tongue in between his teeth. Poe relished the small gasp this drew from Finn before he copied. He was a fast learner. They continued to explore each other’s mouths with their tongues and bodies with their hands, grabbing at any available space on the other. It began to grow more and more desperate and Finn began to tug at the zip on the front of Poe’s orange flightsuit. Poe snarled into Finn’s mouth a little and broke the kiss before pushing upwards and switching their positions. He arched over Finn, they were both breathless and Finn looked beautiful. His lips were pink and shining with saliva and he was still smiling, his skin was glowing in the same soft way that mesmerised Poe, it looked delicious, and he had a look in his eyes that made the heat swirling in Poe’s stomach move ever downwards. He pushed the collar of his jacket up over his shoulders and Finn helped, hurriedly shrugging it off before returning his hands to Poe’s waist. Poe kissed him again quickly before diving for his neck and kissing and sucking downwards towards his collar bone as he slid his hands up under Finn’s shirt. Finn’s muscles twitched at the contact and he threw his head backwards with another gasp. His hands fumbled at Poe’s zipper again, finishing what he started by pulling it all the way down to his waist. Poe sat up reached behind him, and pulled it off his shoulders, letting it hang from his waist. Finn grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him in for yet another kiss as they both pulled his shirt up over his head, finally. Poe looked back down, ready to kiss his whole body but before he could Finn lifted his chin. He felt Finn press a kiss to his temple before dragging his lips down his jawline towards his mouth again. Then he felt Finn’s free hand on his, oh.

Poe jumped back, startling Finn a little. He gave him a confused look.

“Do you uh- I mean, are you sure?” Poe was reminded that a little less than a couple of hours ago they hadn’t even talked about this, not that they had really talked about it now but they were, doing this.

“Do you want to?” Finn raised an eyebrow, his hand was still on his crotch and he was definitely hard.

Poe looked at Finn, his eyes tracing down from his gorgeous face to his matching erection. His mouth watered as he thought about Finn. Finn laughing in the bar, Finn turning to look at him as he left, Finn in his ship, Finn in his bed, Finn holding him as they slept.

He pressed his forehead against Finn’s. “Fuck yes” he breathed.

And they were both smiling like idiots.

He moved back to Finn’s neck and shoulders again and Finn let him. Finn’s hands played with the elastic on Poe’s underwear that had become more exposed as his flight suit slipped down a little. Before Finn could go anywhere with that, Poe was sinking away from him and further down his body. He kissed his chest all the way down to his stomach, enjoying the sound he pulled from Finn as he slowly licked and the grazed his nipple lightly with his teeth.

Finn seemed to have caught on to what Poe was planning and he spread his legs as Poe slid between them and put his hands back into Poe’s hair.

Poe kissed just beneath Finn’s naval as he undid his fly and pulled his pants down just a little. The tent in his underwear made Poe smile. When he looked back up at Finn he was giving him a dejected pout. Poe grinned and placed his mouth on the end of him. He breathed hot and heavy through the fabric. Finn groaned. He dug his hands further into Poe’s hair and pulling tighter and tighter until Poe released him from his pants. He wanted to make Finn wait just a little longer, to tease him a little more. Looking up at his face, twisted in desperation, felt like heaven. But he was also just as wrought with anticipation and his whole body shuddered as he saw the precome dripping from the end.

Relinquishing any remaining self control he placed his hands on Finn’s inner thighs, pressing them further apart and licked at the slit before sucking the head into his mouth. He tasted bitter and salty and perfect and Finn whimpered. Without warning, he engulfed his whole length and then sucked as he pulled it back out of his mouth in one swift motion. Finn gasped and Poe looked up at him, panting, Finn gave him a pleading and hungry look and Poe got to work.

He ran his tongue up Finn from the base to the head and then dragged his teeth across the skin as Finn moaned. He did not take Finn back into his mouth until he had teased him a little more but when Finn’s fingernails were digging into his scalp he wrapped his fingers around the base and dove forward again. As he twisted up and down his length he heard Finn puffing and panting and choking out sobs that sounded like his name above him and it only drove him to a more relentless pace. Soon enough Finn grew stiff and twitched as his hands twisted his hair impossibly tighter. It wasn’t quite enough warning and as he was pulling off, Finn exploded in his mouth. He choked a little as the rest splashed over his face.

He looked at Finn who was catching his breath. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and swallowed what was left in his mouth, smirking up at him. Before he could do anything Finn had grabbed him by the forearms and was pulling him upwards. Poe wrapped himself around Finn and buried his face in his neck, breathing him in as Finn’s hands slipped beneath his waistband and freed his dick. With a few tugs Poe quivered into him and whined as he felt the building pressure release between them, hot and sticky.

For a while they didn’t do anything, just lay there in the cockpit, tangled together. When Poe pulled back Finn smiled at him in a way he had never seen before and Poe couldn’t help but smile back. His heart fluttered and his chest felt like it was about to burst. He looked upwards at the stars and D’Qar. It looked so small from here. His leg throbbed as a reminder of what had happened and what was yet to come but when Finn ran his hand through his hair nothing else mattered. He pressed his head into Finn’s chest as it rose and fell and felt his chin rest on top of it. He snaked his arms around Finn’s back and Finn held him tight. They could just stay here for now.


End file.
